2010-10-06, 04:52 PM
patch 1 - October
patch 2 - November
patch 3 - December
Of course you would call it a winter update, not a fall update, even though the first patch would be during fall.
I'm only going with this because moving the patch sequence by one month would cause Nexon to NOT maximize their ROI, given the release window of all the other major products/software intended for gamers. Again, if you're an executive at Nexon, you want to deploy the killer app part of the content BEFORE the competition releases theirs, not alongside it.
Why would -anyone- want Big Bang on the 2nd week of November? We all know there will be bugs, we all know this is not going to be a smoothly transitioned patch, we all know there will be at least a few server checks/emergency patches. Noone is going to be able to enjoy Thanksgiving vacation like this. Noone in his/her right mind will want to charge NX during these potential rollback periods because of what happened not too long ago. Did we all forget about people who charged NX for cubes/potentials and got rolled back and received their compensation way later (with some still waiting on said compensation) and lost their godly potential'ed stats? Why would you risk that again? We all know we're going to go power hungry with the class rebalances, and there is going to be a major desire to spend NX as we adjust to our characters. The Maple community can easily take their money elsewhere as they go to school/work and/or chat it up with friends who are enjoying new releases of other entertainment goods. Suddenly 'waiting on Nexon' isn't as patience-worthy as it was days ago. Nobody in their right mind would do it during such a vulnerable time.
Would you want to deal with alot of these issues or buy the new Fable or Kinect or Call of Duty: Black Ops or Gran Turismo 5? Would people in general wait it out for more Big Bang content or jump into WoW Cataclysm? The average Mapler doesn't even know the full details of the Big Bang update. Instead of running a stupid poll, Nexon should be detailing the changes ahead of time. There is plenty to sift through and read, especially since most of us have more than one character. Since your average Mapler isn't fully aware of BB, why would he/she put money aside to invest in the game once the BB is underway? I'm guessing most will go "oh but I already put money in buying x game, guess I'll hope for christmas money", and by then it'd be too late for a decent ROI.
Whatever time you think BB will come, add a few weeks to that time because that's when the game will actually be playable and safe in terms of NX charging. When it comes to the holiday season, you don't want to lose those weeks to downtime, because during this time you can not only lose revenue but also players. This is a real world view I am giving. This is why I argue for Big Bang to come as early as possible. Releasing it after January is a missed opportunity just as much as getting the timing of it wrong from now until the end of the year.
Get Big Bang up ASAP, get a marketing push going, and inform the community in-game and out-game of the changes to come. Get it done. Now.
patch 2 - November
patch 3 - December
Of course you would call it a winter update, not a fall update, even though the first patch would be during fall.
I'm only going with this because moving the patch sequence by one month would cause Nexon to NOT maximize their ROI, given the release window of all the other major products/software intended for gamers. Again, if you're an executive at Nexon, you want to deploy the killer app part of the content BEFORE the competition releases theirs, not alongside it.
Why would -anyone- want Big Bang on the 2nd week of November? We all know there will be bugs, we all know this is not going to be a smoothly transitioned patch, we all know there will be at least a few server checks/emergency patches. Noone is going to be able to enjoy Thanksgiving vacation like this. Noone in his/her right mind will want to charge NX during these potential rollback periods because of what happened not too long ago. Did we all forget about people who charged NX for cubes/potentials and got rolled back and received their compensation way later (with some still waiting on said compensation) and lost their godly potential'ed stats? Why would you risk that again? We all know we're going to go power hungry with the class rebalances, and there is going to be a major desire to spend NX as we adjust to our characters. The Maple community can easily take their money elsewhere as they go to school/work and/or chat it up with friends who are enjoying new releases of other entertainment goods. Suddenly 'waiting on Nexon' isn't as patience-worthy as it was days ago. Nobody in their right mind would do it during such a vulnerable time.
Would you want to deal with alot of these issues or buy the new Fable or Kinect or Call of Duty: Black Ops or Gran Turismo 5? Would people in general wait it out for more Big Bang content or jump into WoW Cataclysm? The average Mapler doesn't even know the full details of the Big Bang update. Instead of running a stupid poll, Nexon should be detailing the changes ahead of time. There is plenty to sift through and read, especially since most of us have more than one character. Since your average Mapler isn't fully aware of BB, why would he/she put money aside to invest in the game once the BB is underway? I'm guessing most will go "oh but I already put money in buying x game, guess I'll hope for christmas money", and by then it'd be too late for a decent ROI.
Whatever time you think BB will come, add a few weeks to that time because that's when the game will actually be playable and safe in terms of NX charging. When it comes to the holiday season, you don't want to lose those weeks to downtime, because during this time you can not only lose revenue but also players. This is a real world view I am giving. This is why I argue for Big Bang to come as early as possible. Releasing it after January is a missed opportunity just as much as getting the timing of it wrong from now until the end of the year.
Get Big Bang up ASAP, get a marketing push going, and inform the community in-game and out-game of the changes to come. Get it done. Now.